RIP: Bob Newhart

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Bob Newhart died today after a short illness.  Mr. Newhart was 94.

Bob Newhart graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in business management. He was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served as a clerk during the Korean War. After his discharge from the service Bob Newhart worked as an accountant and later an advertising copywriter.  All the while, Mr. Newhart worked on comedy routines that he sent out to radio stations.

This led to Mr. Newhart signing a contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1959.  The following year his first comedy album was released.  The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was the first comedy album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts.  It also earned Mr. Newhart two Grammy awards for Best Album of the Year and Best New Artist.

Mr. Newhart’s recording success led to television and feature films. The Bob Newhart Show was a variety program that lasted one season, but was nominated for a Primetime Emmy award.  Mr. Newhart continued to record comedy albums, make many television guest appearances and even served as a co-host of The Entertainers variety show.  Then in 1972, he starred in The Bob Newhart Show.  It ran for 142 episodes.  Four years after it went off the air, Mr. Newhart starred in the series Newhart.  It ran for 184 episodes.

Mr. Newhart was nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning three…

  • 1961 winner Best New Artist
  • 1961 winner Album of the Year – for “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart”
  • 1961 winner Best Comedy Performance – Spoken Word for “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!”
  • 1998 nominee Best Spoken Comedy Album for “Button Down Concert”
  • 2007 nominee Best Spoken Word Album for “I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!”

Bob Newhart was nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one

  • 1962 nominee Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy for The Bob Newhart Show (shared with: Roland Kibbee · Don Hinkley · Milt Rosen · Ernest Chambers · Dean Hargrove · Robert Kaufman · Norm Liebmann · Charles Sherman · Howard Snyder · Larry Siegel)
  • 1985 nominee Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – Newhart for playing “Dick Loudon”
  • 1986 nominee Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – Newhart for playing “Dick Loudon”
  • 1987 nominee Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – Newhart for playing “Dick Loudon”
  • 2004 nominee Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series – ER for playing “Ben Hollander”
  • 2009 nominee Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie – The Librarian III: The Curse of the Judas Chalice for playing: “Judson”
  • 2013 winner Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series – The Big Bang Theory for playing “Arthur Jeffries and Professor Proton” in the episode “The Proton Resurgence”
  • 2014 nominee Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series – The Big Bang Theory for playing “Arthur”
  • 2016 nominee Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series- The Big Bang Theory for playing: “Arthur” in the episode: “The Opening Night Excitation”

Television projects that feature Bob Newhart include: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre; Captain Nice; The Don Rickles Show; The Bob Newhart Show (142 episodes); Insight (2 episodes); It’s Garry Shandling’s Show; Newhart (184 episodes); Bob (33 episodes); Murphy Brown; The Simpsons; George & Leo (22 episodes); ER (3 episodes); The Librarian: Quest for the Spear; Desperate Housewives (3 episodes); The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines; The Librarian III: The Curse of the Judas Chalice; NICS; Svengoolie (cameo); The Librarians (3 episodes); The Big Bang Theory (6 episodes) and Young Sheldon (3 episodes).

Feature films that feature Bob Newhart include: Hell is For Heroes; Hot Millions; On a Clear Day You Can See Forver; Catch-22; Cold Turkey; The Rescuers; The Rescuers Down Under; In & Out and Elf.

The Bob Newhart Show was must-see tv when I was a kid. I’m also old enough to remember listening to his comedy albums and laughing at his many television guest appearances.  What an amazing career Mr. Newhart had.  No wonder so many folks consider him a national treasure.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Bob Newhart’s family, friends and fans.

“Alien: Romulus” – The Final Trailer is Here!

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The final trailer for Alien: Romulus has arrived.

“Alien: Romulus” takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Civil War”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), Aileen Wu.

Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.

“Alien: Romulus” is produced by Ridley Scott (“Napoleon”), who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” Michael Pruss (“Boston Strangler”), and Walter Hill (“Alien”), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (“Charlie’s Angels”), Brent O’Connor (“Bullet Train”), and Tom Moran (“Unstoppable”) serving as executive producers.

John Carpenter Presents “Body Bags” (1993) / Z-View

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Body Bags (1993) 

Directors: John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Larry Sulkis

Screenplay:  Billy Brown, Dan Angel

Stars: John Carpenter, Tom Arnold, Tobe Hooper, Robert Carradine, Alex Datcher, Peter Jason, Molly Cheek, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, David Naughton, George ‘Buck’ Flower, David Warner, Sheena Easton, Greg Nicotero, Debbie Harry, Mark Hamill, Twiggy, John Agar, Roger Corman, Charles Napier and Stacy Keach.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

A scary coroner (Carpenter) introduces three tales…

  • The Gas Station.  A serial killer is operating in an area where a young woman has her first night working at a remote gas station.
  • Hair.  Richard Coberts (Keach) is a vain man concerned about losing his hair.  Nothing he’s tried so far as worked.  Then he learns about a new procedure guaranteed to grow hair.
  • Eye.  A pro baseball player (Hamill) on the verge of being called up to the big league gets into an accident that destroys one of his eyes.  Thinking he has nothing to lose, he agrees to an experimental eye transplant…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Body Bags was developed as a series for Showtime.  It would be their answer to HBO’s Tales from the Crypt.  Ultimately Showtime decided to not go forward with the project.

Body Bags is full of famous people showing up in cameos.

I would rank the three segments: The Gas Station (3 of 5), Hair (2 of 5) and Eye (2 of 5).

Body Bags (1993) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“American Fiction” (2023) written & directed by Cord Jefferson, starring Jeffrey Wright / Z-View

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American Fiction (2023) 

Director: Cord Jefferson

Screenplay: Cord Jefferson based on ERASURE by Percival Everett

Stars: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Sterling K. Brown, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Raymond Anthony Thomas, Okieriete Onaodowan, Miriam Shor, J.C. MacKenzie and Keith David.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Wright) is a writer and college professor.  Monk has had a couple of books published.  Although the books were critically praised, they were far from best sellers.  Monk’s latest book was turned down with publishers saying it wasn’t “black enough”.

To compound things, Monk’s mom’s mental health is rapidly deteriorating.  It’s clear she’s going to need the support of her family.  Monk’s brother just went through a divorce.  He won’t be much help.  His sister is willing, but there are issues.  Monk is feeling the pressure of life bearing down.

Monk’s exasperation grows when the novel WE’S LIVES IN DA GHETTO makes the best seller list.  The novel panders to the lowest common denominator and features typical black stereotypes.  Out of frustration, Monk begins writing.  His story features everything one would expect in a blaxploitation story – drugs, gangs, a deadbeat dad and a son who couldn’t rise above his surroundings.  When Monk is finished he has a book length story.  As a joke he submits it under the name Stagg R. Leigh, an ex-con who is one the run from the cops.

When Monk gets several offers as high as $750,000, he realizes that nobody gets the joke.  He tells his editor to decline the deal, but his mother’s bills are adding up.  So…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

American Fiction was nominated for five Academy Awards and won one…

  • nominee Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) – Laura Karpman
  • nominee Best Motion Picture of the Year – Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson
  • nominee Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Jeffrey Wright
  • nominee Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Sterling K. Brown
  • winner Best Adapted Screenplay – Cord Jefferson

I thought American Fiction would be funny.  It is.  I didn’t realize how much heart it would have.  American Fiction is one of the best movie surprises I’ve had in recent years.

American Fiction is Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut.

American Fiction (2023) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“The Killer” (2024) directed by John Woo – The Trailer is Here!

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I like the looks of this.  Deal me in.

From the Oscar® winning producer of Oppenheimer, the kinetic action thriller stars Emmy nominee Nathalie Emmanuel (The Fast Saga, Game of Thrones) as Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead.

But when, during an assignment from her shadowy mentor and handler (Avatar’s Sam Worthington), Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman (Diana Silvers; Ma, Booksmart) in a Paris nightclub, the decision will disintegrate Zee’s alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator (Golden Globe nominee Omar Sy; Jurassic World franchise, Lupin), and plunge her into a sinister criminal conspiracy that will set her on a collision course with her own past.

Premieres August 23rd on Peacock.

“Amityville Uprising” (2022) / Z-View

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Amityville Uprising (2022) 

Director: Thomas J. Churchill

Screenplay: Thomas J. Churchill

Stars: Scott C. Roe, Mike Ferguson, Kelly Lynn Reiter, Troy Fromin.

Tagline: To Serve. To Protect. And to Fight the Undead.

The Plot…

An explosion at a military base produces a cloud that releases acid rain over Amityville.  The contaminated downpour turns town folk into zombies.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Amityville Uprising sounded like a low budget drive-in movie that might be a fun way to spend an hour and a half.  I tapped out after 31 minutes.  I was still waiting to see a zombie.

Amityville Uprising (2022) rates 1 of 5 stars.

RIP: James B. Sikking

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James B. Sikking died Saturday due to complications from dementia.  Mr. Sikking was 90.

James B. Sikking was best known for his role as Howard Hunter, the leader of the S.W.A.T. squad on Hill Street Blues.  For this portrayal he was nominated for one Primetime Emmy Award:

  • 1984 nominee Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – Hill Street Blues

After graduating high school Mr. Sikking served in Korea in the U.S. Army.  He graduated from the University of California.  With 159 credits on his acting resume, James B. Sikking worked in both television and feature films throughout his career.

Television projects that feature James B. Sikking include: Assignment: Underwater; Perry Mason; General Hospital; Combat! (2 episodes); Rawhide; The Outer Limits (2 episodes); The Loner; O.K. Crackerby!; The Long, Hot Summer; The Virginian; Honey West; My Favorite Martian; My Mother, the Car; The Fugitive (3 episodes); 12 O’Clock High; Run for Your Life; Sail to Glory; The Invaders; Gomer Pyle; Bonanza (2 episodes); Adam-12; The Survivors; Here Come the Brides (2 episodes); The Young Lawyers; Love American Style; Hogan’s Heroes (3 episodes); The Bold Ones: The New Doctors; The Immortal; The Name of the Game; Night Gallery (2 episodes); Cade’s County; Ironside; Longstreet; Mission Impossible (2 episodes); Man on a String; The Bob Newhart Show; Banyon; The Doris Day Show (3 episodes); M*A*S*H*; The Streets of San Francisco; Mod Squad (3 episodes); Search; The Rookies (2 episodes); Mannix (2 episodes); Room 222 (2 episodes); The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping; Columbo; The F.B.I. (11 episodes); Cannon (2 episodes); Ellery Queen; Rich Man – Poor Man – Book II (2 episodes); Police Story; Little House on the Prairie; Delvecchio (3 episodes); Eight is Enough; The Feather and Father Gang (2 episodes); Man from Atlantis; Rafferty; Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy; Kill Me if You Can; The Last Hurrah; Starsky and Hutch; The Bionic Woman; The Incredible Hulk; The Rockford Files (2 episodes); Lucan; A Woman Called Moses (2 episodes); Hawaii 5-0 (2 episodes); Charlie’s Angels (2 episodes); The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo; The Jesse Owens Story; L.A. Law; Hill Street Blues (144 episodes); Who’s the Boss; Brotherhood of the Rose; Hunter (3 episodes); Around the World in 80 Days (3 episodes); Doogie Houser, M.D. (97 episodes); In Pursuit of Honor; The Ring; Brooklyn South (20 episodes); Invasion America (13 episodes); Batman Beyond (2 episodes); Rocket Power (2 episodes); The Guardian (2 episodes); Curb Your Enthusiasm (2 episodes) and The Closer.

Feature films that feature James B. Sikking include: Five Guns West; The Strangler; Von Ryan’s Express; In Like Flint; Point Blank; Charro; Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting; Escape from the Planet of the Apes; The Magnificent Seven Ride; The New Centurions; The Terminal Man; Capricorn One; The Electric Horseman; Ordinary People; Outland; The Star Chamber; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Narrow Margin and The Pelican Brief; 

It’s hard to pin down the first time I saw James B. Sikking acting.  That’s because he was in so many television shows I watched as a kid.  Looking at his resume he was in so many great shows and movies (and I didn’t list them all).  My favorite performance was his role on Hill Street Blues.  He also had a small but impactful role in Point Blank that quickly comes to mind when Mr. Sikking’s name is mentioned.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to James B. Sikking’s family, friends and fans.

“Terminator Zero” – The Trailer is Here!

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Terminator Zero has my interest.  And look at that cast! Timothy Olyphant and Rosario Dawson!

From Skydance, Production I.G, Masashi Kudō and Mattson Tomlin comes one of the most anticipated anime series of the year, TERMINATOR ZERO.
Starring Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Sonoya Mizuno, André Holland & Ann Dowd – TERMINATOR ZERO premieres on August 29th (Judgement Day) only on Netflix.

“Crawlspace” (2022) starring Henry Thomas / Z-View

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Crawlspace (2022) 

Director: L. Gustavo Cooper

Screenplay: Jacob D. Wehrman

Stars: Henry Thomas, Bradley Stryker, C. Ernst Harth, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Andrei Kovski and Charles Jarman.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Robert Mitchell (Thomas) is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is underneath a remote, isolated cabin working on the plumbing.  Three men arrive unaware that Mitchell is below them.  Two of the men begin to torture the third.  They want to know where he hid a small fortune of stolen loot.

Mitchell hears a commotion and witnesses the man’s murder.  The killers become aware of Mitchell and the loot hidden below. It then becomes a game of cat and mouse as the murderers attempt to kill Mitchell.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Crawlspace isn’t a great movie, but it is fun.  Even more so if you pretend that Mitchell is actually Home Alone‘s Kevin who grew up to be a plumber.  ; )

Crawlspace (2022)  rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Brats” (2024) directed by Andrew McCarthy / Z-View

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Brats (2024) 

Director: Andrew McCarthy

Stars: Andrew McCarthy, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Jon Cryer, Bret Easton Ellis, Lea Thompson, Timothy Hutton, Demi Moore, Howard Deutch and Rob Lowe.

Tagline: Everybody wanted to be in the Brat Pack. Except them.

The Plot…

In the 1980s a group of young actors and actresses were getting rich and famous.  They often appeared in movies as an ensemble. The were young, rich and in demand.  Things took a sideways turn when a writer for New York magazine wrote a profile about the group headlined Hollywood’s Brat Pack.

The label took hold even though it wasn’t clear which young actors were in the so-called pack.  For many painted with the Brat the impact was quick and negative.  Movies were cancelled.  Work became hard to get.  Who in Hollywood wanted to work with young brats who felt entitled and never paid their dues.

Now, 40 years later, Andrew McCarthy, one of the so-called Brat Pack decided to reach out to others tarnished by the label.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

While I haven’t seen many of the movies that would fall into the Brat Pack resume, I was interested in this documentary.  The Brat Pack label went viral.  Everyone knew what it meant even if no one was sure who exactly was in the pack.

It was interesting to see many of the stars.  I was happy that those who participated in the documentary were in good places.

I was surprised how difficult it was for Andrew McCarthy to contact some of the people he reached out to.  Good on Andrew for being humble about it and for getting a laugh from the situation as the movie ended.

Demi Moore seemed to be at ease with how things have worked out for her.  I was happy to see that.

Of all the folks negatively impacted by the Brat Pack label, it seemed that Andrew McCarthy took it hardest.  It felt like doing this doc brought him some peace of mind.  I hope so.

Brats (2024)  rates 4 of 5 stars.